Constructing Green Lantern: From Page to Screen

Can’t wait to find out what happens in the upcoming Green Lantern movie? Want to know more about how the many special effects were created? Then this is the book for you.

This glossy art book is a handsome companion to the film, with lots of behind-the-scenes photos, sketches and concept art, storyboards, location information, and even some movie stills. Planned shot sketches are shown next to the actual image from filming.

After a short explanation of the character’s comic book origin, we jump right into the visual development of the movie. Chapters cover settings from Coast City’s Ferris Aircraft to the planet Oa, the costumes and aliens, and key plot elements, like Abin Sur’s crash landing. I was most surprised by the chapter on how they designed the Power Battery and ring — it revealed a direction I wasn’t expecting.

It’s not just images, but text explanations and staff quotes as well. If you want to know why certain design decisions were made, this’ll tell you. While I still don’t care for the anatomical look of the costume, at least now I understand better why it looks that way. And it’s neat finding out that some of the characters, such as Sinestro (Mark Strong), were done with makeup, not all digitally. (The publisher provided a review copy.)